Barrette



Nov. 25, 1924.

w. s. BECHTOLD BARRETTE Filed s t.

NVENTGR Maw x dam ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

paras WILLIAM S. IBECHTOLD, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

BARRET'IE.

Application filed. September 10, 1924. Serial No. 736,867.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLTAM S. Biron- TOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Barrettes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to barrettes, or hair holding devices, and refers particularly to devices of this character capable of firm maintenance upon the hair.

Devices of this character are largely employed for maintaining the hair in a desired fixed position and for retaining it in a neat and attractive condition.

The prevalent style of short hair has rendered many of the formerly employed devices of little or no value.

It is not essential that barrettes, or hair holders, should be absolutely immovable and incapable of movement along the hair strands when employed with long hair, as the hair beyond the barrette is folded and twisted into various forms, in order to support it in attractive shape upon the head of the wearer.

As the extremities of the hair are thus intermingled and tied. a barrette could not become disengaged from the hair even if capable of slidable movement thereon.

The wide adoption of short hair, however, has created a demand for a barrette which will fulfil its function of maintaining the hair in position and which will not move along the hair strands, as such a movement will cause the complete disengagement of the barrette with the hair, that portion of which beyond the barrette being free to allow of such disengagement.

It is evident, therefore, that a barrette for short hair must have characteristics not necessary in those employed with long hair, the chief of which is its ability to be locked from longitudinal hair strand movement.

The device of my invention overcomes the difliculties incident to the employment of the previously known barrettes and presents a device which may be employed with short hair without the liability of accidental dis placement.

I have found that the desired properties in a barrette suitable for use with short hair may be obtained by employing a semi-rigid resilient tongue which, in its locked position, will be positioned between a plurality of rows of teeth, the teeth of the several rows being staggered with respect to each other, and at such an angle to each other as to forcibly' bind the hair strands between the tongue and the base plate, the hair strands being in bent position, due to their passage between the teeth.

The hair holding properties of my device are evidentupon a consideration of its mechanical construction, each hair strand being firmly held in a position of a plurality of angular directions, and hence, a stress upon a hair strand will have a tendency to increase it-s non-movement.

It is further evident that barrettes suitable for employment with short hair must have tongues which are sufiiciently rigid as to be capable of being passed between and beneath the hair strands and which are sufficiently resilient as to be capable of flexing for purposes of placement within the looking member, and by the term semi-rigid resilient tongue in my specification and claims I mean a tongue having the above described properties.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one form of the device of my invention, similar parts are designated by similar numorals.

Figure 1 is a side view of one form of a device of my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1 with the tongue partly broken away for purposes of clearness of description.

Figure 3 is a cross-section through the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The particular form. of my device, shown in the accompanying drawings, comprises a base 10 curved longitudinally. one end portion of the concave face carrying a hook 11 and the other end portion of the concave face carrying an extended member 12 to which the tongue 13 is pivotally attached at 1 1, the hook, or catch. 11 being so positioned as to receive and retain the tongue 13 when the device is in locked position.

Fixedly attached to the concave, or inner, face of the base 10 is an angular member forming the interior face angle 15 and having its edges serrated, or toothed, so that the teeth 16, 16 of one row are staggered with respect to the teeth 16, 16 of the other row. The teeth 16, 16 are extended at such an angle that when the device is in locked position the tongue 13 will be between the two rows of teeth and but slightly spaced from the teeth and from the angle 15 so that when the device is employed the hair of the wearer will be tightly wedged. or pressed, between the tongue 13, the angle 15 and opposed staggered teeth 16, 16.

The operation of the device is as follows The tongue 13 is passed beneath the hair to be fastened, or held, thus positioning the hair between the tongue 13 and the other elements of the device. The device is then closed, the tongue 13 being sufficiently flexible to bring its free end beneath the hook 11, theresiliency ot' the tongue springing itinto locked position. The tongue 13 now rests between the two longitudinal rows of teeth 16, 16 and within the angle formed by the teeth, thus pressing the hair mass between the staggered teeth under pressure of the tongue 13. Each hair, therefore, has been bent from its normal position and has been wedged between the several elements of the device as described above.

It is evident that this enforced tortuous wedging of the hair will hold and maintain the device in practically fixed position and that it can not be moved except by sutlicient force to pull the hair in an abnormal formation through the various holding, or wedging, elements of the device.

The base 10 may be of any desired shape, or ornamentation, as it acts simply as a means for maintaining the other elements of the device.

I do not limit myself to the particular size, shape, number, arrangement, or material oit parts as shown and described, as these are given simply as a means for clearly describing the device of my invention.

hat I claim is 1. In a barrette, in combination, a base, two rows of teeth in angular position with respect to each other, the teeth of one row being staggered with respect to the teeth of the other row and a pivotal semi-rigid tongue capable of placement between the two rows of teeth.

2. In a barrette, in combination, a concave base, a two sided member carried by the concave face of the, base, the two sides of the said member meeting each other in angular position and carrying a plurality of teeth upon their outer edges, the teeth of one edge being staggered with respect to the teeth of the other end and a semirigid resilient tongue pivotally carried by the base which when locked will be positioned in close proximity to the inner angle ot the two-sided member.

3. In a barrette, incombination, a base, two rows of teeth in acute angular position with respect to the base, the teeth of one row being staggered with respect to the teeth of the other row, a pivotal semi-rigid tongue capable of placement between the two rows of teeth, and a hook capable of receiving the tongue and maintaining itin locked position between the rows of teeth.

Signed at New York city. in the county of New York and State of New York this 5th day of September, 1924.

lVILLIAM S. .BECHTOLD. 

